Letters

From our president

Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends

Thank you for your continuing interest in and support of UD. As always, we hope this latest issue of the University of Delaware Messenger helps you maintain and strengthen your connections to our institution, while keeping you informed about some of the exciting programs and initiatives throughout the University as we move along our Path to Prominence™.

I’m sure you’ve noticed some changes in the magazine you’re holding, beginning with its smaller dimensions, which are in keeping with our move toward more sustainable practices. We are exploring the use of recycled content in our paper, as well as more sustainable practices in its manufacture. This is a priority as the entire University focuses on environmental issues.

The cover of this issue looks different as well. While the magazine’s name has not changed, our cover now features the word “Delaware” more prominently, identifying it more clearly as a UD publication. Going forward, the magazine will be published three times a year with this year’s separate “Report of Private Support” also published near the end of the calendar year.

We know from our recent Reader Survey that the vast majority of you enjoy the UD Messenger. In fact, 95.9 percent of readers who completed the survey described themselves as satisfied or very satisfied with the magazine. We also know that our readers want a mix of information, saying they always or usually read news about research, programs and students at the University, as well as stories about alumni and alumni programs and events.

In a recent letter to the entire University community, I wrote about what effect the current economic situation here and abroad will have on the Path to Prominence™ and our plans for UD’s future. In many ways, I think these uncertain times make our strategic plan more important than ever. During a period of more limited resources, we are clearly defining our goals, focusing on our priorities and making sure that all our activities support and enhance our mission.

We will continue to stage initiatives and focus on facing current challenges together. We are not on a predetermined timetable for accomplishing specific milestones. Our principles - our core values - will help us make the best decisions. We will continue to be vigilant for opportunities to enhance our most important priorities: our high academic standards, the quality of the student experience, research opportunities and service to the community.

The good news is that the University entered this volatile market cycle in a very strong position, and I am convinced that, in time, the economy will stabilize and grow.

Your connection to the University is very important to its future. Please continue to keep in touch, not only by reading this magazine and offering your feedback but also by visiting campus, getting involved and attending alumni events in your area. I know you’ll be inspired by all the things that are happening here.

Sincerely,

Patrick T. Harker
President

Letters from our Readers

Editor:
I certainly enjoyed the feature article on Robin Miller, AS ’86, who hosts a regular cooking show on the Food Network. The author, Crystal Buck, AS ’08M, did an excellent job of highlighting Robin’s path to becoming a TV performer.

It might interest your readers to know a bit about Nancy Diehl, CHEP ’52. Nancy had majored in home economics and was approached by [Wilmington, Del., television station] Channel 12 in the fall of 1952 to host a daily cooking show. Although extremely apprehensive about doing live TV, Nancy decided to give it a try. Remember, she had no TV experience nor training, but she gathered her wits and her materials and made the trip to the Wilmington studio five days per week. At the time, Nancy became something of a local/campus celebrity. Professors were using her as an example of what one can accomplish if you wanted it badly enough.

I’ve been happily married to another fine cook for 51 years, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve erased Nancy Diehl from my memory! Thanks to Crystal Buck and the Messenger for the trip down Memory Lane.

 John Rosebery, AS ’53

Editor’s note:
Nancy (Diehl) Bergstresser, now of Orlando, Fla., recalls the two years she hosted cooking shows on then-WDEL-TV as “so much fun that I would have done it even if I hadn’t gotten paid.”

Editor:
How happy and thrilled my husband and I were to see the photo from our November 2007 “Go Hens!” party in the Messenger that arrived in July. Thank you so much for publishing it.

It was wonderful of you to devote so much time and effort to finding out all those graduation years and degrees. I especially like the way the photo is positioned opposite the “Commitments” page of wedding photos. We Delaware grads in the picture love our alma mater and our football team, and quite a few of the couples are Double Dels!

Peggy Leneis, AS ’70

Editor:
My wife, Jeanne V. Schramm (nee Vannoy, CHEP ’63) is a graduate of the University of Delaware, so we receive the Messenger, as well as alumni magazines from five other schools. After examining several issues of the Messenger, I decided to write to you to let you know how impressed I am with the high quality of your publication.

I was, at one time, the photographer for a local college, so I look upon photographs with the eye of a professional photographer. That being said, let me state that the photographic work in the Messenger is outstanding. Your photographers should be commended.

I should also mention that the layout work in your magazine is, in my opinion, very well done and that the articles are very well written and, more important, quite interesting.

All in all, the Messenger is the highest quality alumni magazine I have ever seen. You and your staff have every reason to be proud of your work.

Robert W. Schramm
Professor Emeritus,
West Liberty State College

From our Editors

With this issue, the University of Delaware Messenger has a new look and some new features, including the Letters to the Editor section you see on this page. If you would like to comment on the magazine’s content, we invite you to submit a letter, either by mail to UD Messenger, 105 East Main Street, Newark, DE 19716, or by e-mail to TheMessenger@udel.edu. Letters must include the writer’s full name, graduation year and contact information. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and style.

We also thank the hundreds of readers who took time to complete the Reader Survey inserted in the previous issue of the magazine. Three respondents were selected at random to receive $100 gift certificates to the UD Bookstore. They are Jennifer Post Stoudt, AS ’95, of Fleetwood, Pa.; Tom Wix, AS ’83, of Alpharetta, Ga.; and Rhonda Rust de la Mar, AS ’92, of Elkridge, Md. Congratulations to the winners.